When I caught my first whiff of Lush’s citrusy new No Drought Dry Shampoo ($12.95), I wondered if it could handle the scent of eau de greasy roots — that scent somewhere between musk and the fragrant toe funk that manifests after one too many days without shampoo.
To erase my doubts about No Drought, I went four days sans shampoo, at the end of which my mop had reached greasy critical mass, complete with limp roots, a gummy scalp and a scent akin to El Hub’s sock drawer. With my hair at new heights of jankiness, I reached for Lush No Drought Dry Shampoo.
I followed the directions on the bottle, or tried to at least, but the bottle doesn’t make this loose powder easy to dispense.
Correction — it makes it too easy. The cap has a regular lotion topper that dumps out a ton of product when it’s tipped, and I wound up with more powder on the sink and bathroom floor than I successfully got in my hair.
Carefully, I managed to tap out a small amount into the palm of a hand that I then ran through my hair and scalp. In no time, my head smelled as fresh and clean as a bucket of lemons, but that was the high point for me and my hair.
I think No Drought absorbs excess oil and dirt fairly well, which is its raison d’être, but it also leaves a lot of itself behind. I feel the powder everywhere — on my hair and scalp. It feels heavy and thick, and I don’t get the nice lift at the roots that I get from finer, lighter dry shampoos. When all is said and done, it takes a couple rounds of washing, lathering and rinsing to thoroughly remove every grain.
And then there’s the noticeable white cast it leaves on my dark hair…
Yup, on top of everything else.
As for my favorite thing about this, the scent, it’s just not enough to earn No Drought the win, and I don’t get the same sense of relief after using it that I get from $24 Rene Furterer Naturia or $3 Suave Dry Shampoo.
PRICE: $12.95 for a 250-ml bottle (about 8.5 ounces)
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Lush stores and also online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: C
New year, new hair
Speaking of coifs, I’d like to get mine cut and colored before the end of the year — ya know, to set a good tone for 2012. Sure, I’d also like to clean and organize the house, but getting my hair done is the funnest thing on my year end list. 🙂
Are there any things you’re trying to take care of before the end of this year?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Sheila says
December 12th, 2011 at 9:16 pmI like that it absorbs oil, but I wouldn’t want a dry shampoo that looked like bad dandruff!
Crystal says
December 12th, 2011 at 9:27 pmThe best dry shampoo is without a doubt Pronto by Oscar Blandi.
Karen says
December 12th, 2011 at 9:48 pmI have a travel size version of Pronto and so far I like it! Have you ever tried Naturia or Suave? Those are my two faves.
Evelyn says
December 12th, 2011 at 9:33 pmMy sister left me her Oscar Blandi, I get itchy when I use it and I feel gunky. lol I haven’t met a dry shampoo I like yet!
Karen says
December 12th, 2011 at 9:47 pmHi Evelyn,
Have you tried either Suave or Naturia? I love ’em both!
gio says
December 12th, 2011 at 10:49 pmThe scent sounds wonderful but everything else about it is so disappointing! 🙁
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Resa says
December 13th, 2011 at 1:19 amOoo. I only kinda like suave. It’s cheap but I think my scalp is too oily. I had to wash once every two days or it’ll feel disgusting no matter what dry shampoo.
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Fieran says
December 13th, 2011 at 3:43 amI’ve never used a dry shampoo before .. I’m too addicted to the feel of clean hair so I wash my hair every single day. I’m now beginning to believe I’m a bit weird 🙂
Totally agree with you on a good hair cut to set the right tone for the new year. I scheduled my haircut as well, it’s this Friday. So looking forward. I love my hair stylist – she makes me look like myself but better.
Jasmine says
March 18th, 2016 at 10:36 amTbh, it’s not really good for your hair if you wash it every day…doing that strips your hair of it’s natural oils. Better to wash it every 3 days, or 4 days.
Nina says
December 13th, 2011 at 5:34 amim thinking of getting my hair cut before the new year too! not sure what i want yet …
kiwikiwidragon says
December 13th, 2011 at 7:01 amI have tried the Suave version and am quite pleased with it, the fragrance can be strong to me depending on the time of day I use it. I also like the Klorane version, the fragrance is lighter but the price is higher than the Suave version. I see that Tresemme has two versions as well, I was disappointed to learn that they have CFC’s so I avoided these non-green versions. I can only go every other day washing my hair, its so thick I think it would mold if I washed it every day, lol.
Shannon says
December 13th, 2011 at 7:33 amdid you try holding the bottle upright and squeezing it to get a “poof” or product on your hair? I know that’s how Blow Faux Dry dry shampoo works. However, that product has a specific nozzle that facilitates the “poofing” of the product… but maybe it would help with No Drought? Just an idea.
I think at the moment Suave is my favorite dry shampoo. The smell is pretty overpowering while I use it, but it doesn’t linger too awfully much throughout the day. I also recently tried Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak dry shampoo (they have it at Walmart) and was a big fan – however, I only used it once before the bottle depressurized! Apparently there’s a problem with their spray nozzle insides on some of their bottles, and they’re sending me a new bottle that has different insides to avoid the depressurization problem. I’m hoping the different hardware works, because I really, really liked the stuff!
Nadya says
December 13th, 2011 at 9:41 amI’ve never found the Sauve dry shampoo…might be because I’m in Canada. I have tried the Tresemme one though and it is bad, bad, bad. I’ve got dark hair and while it does make it less greasy and oily it leaves a gray film behind that is impossible to get out. Using Pronto right now, find it’s ok, it too can leave behind a bit of gray unless i spend a lot of time brushing it out.
Vonvon says
December 13th, 2011 at 11:25 amI rarely use dry shampoo, unless it’s really necessary. But even then, the most I would skip one day of hair wash.
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Bun Bun Makeup Tips says
December 13th, 2011 at 11:30 amI’m gonna get my hair done next week. The color’s all faded and the roots have grown out to at least 4 inches! My, my! Why is getting your hair done the funnest thing on my year end list??
Alison says
December 13th, 2011 at 12:05 pmI’m using Tresseme dry shampoo right now, it’s okay but I’m not super wild about it. Next time I’ll try Suave. I’m excited to be getting my hair cut and colored on Friday, my reward after a long week of working hard. My sweet kitty got a makeover today in the form of a lion cut. She’s happy!
Kim says
December 13th, 2011 at 12:11 pmOh, Lush. Points for the lovely scent, but the rest sounds dreadful! Aside from the smell, your post-wash doesn’t sound any better than your pre-wash. That’s not good!
Ooooh, what are you thinking of for your new hair? It always looks great but I’m interested to see what you decide to do. I should have a list a mile long of things to accomplish before the end of the year but, you know me… goalless! 🙂